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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Friends, </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm looking for examples for a colleague I'm
working with on a conference. He's expressed a concern about OS in a
situation among a group, mostly academics, from different
disciplines. I haven't yet allayed his fears. Our exchange
on the subject is below. I'd appreciate any stories or words of counsel
from you. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks for any support on this,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Peggy</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> 1.
I am in the midst of reading George B. Dyson's DARWIN AMONG THE <BR>>
MACHINES: THE EVOLUTION OF GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE. Brilliantly done, very
<BR>> provocative. Lots of stories of brilliant people in the last 400
years <BR>> envisioning, inventing, getting in trouble, etc., co-creating
(and <BR>> co-being) the dense weave of our increasingly interdependent world
of <BR>> digital and human intelligence.<BR>><BR>> Aside from the fact
that Dyson should be on the waiting list for the ES, <BR>> there is the fact
that I don't understand 10-15% of what he says due to <BR>> jargon and
unfamiliar conceptual / experiential frames. This made me <BR>>
wonder: With the ES [Evolutionary Salon], we are bringing together a
fairly diverse group who <BR>> have fairly diverse languages (jargons) and
conceptual/ experiential <BR>> frames. Will those who are speaking be
patient and capable enough to <BR>> familiarize the newbies to their
universes and languages? Will some of <BR>> the newbies want to get
clear each step of the way, while others will just <BR>> want to move on,
riding over the grey areas of semi-comprehension in <BR>> search of the light
ahead? Will people who already know the language and <BR>> worldview of
the speaker tolerate slow-downs to help others catch up, when <BR>> they
could be surging ahead to some new insight with their same-worldview <BR>>
colleagues?<BR>><BR>> I've never arranged a conference with this diversity
of (not just views <BR>> but) languages and experiential
groundings. Do you <BR>> folks have any ideas about helping such
cross-disciplinary conversations <BR>> work? I may have some other
people I can ask if we don't have the <BR>> expertise among
us.<BR>><BR>>MY RESPONSE </FONT><BR><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3>1. To your concern about people understanding each other, please,
let it go, or be prepared to be surprised. The beauty of open space
is that people get their needs met, with all their differences.
It is DESIGNED for diversity; it's where it shines.<BR></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>BACK TO TOM:</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3>></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3>> Thanks for the advice, Peggy. Coming from you, I just
might take it! :-)<BR>><BR>> But I'm still wary -- not so much as a
participant (I can tolerate a lot) <BR>> but as a designer (I feel
responsible for not making any bad judgments <BR>> that could have been
avoided). I'm interested in stories involving not <BR>> just
differences in viewpoint, experience, etc., but differences in <BR>> academic
expertise and language. Do you have examples of interdisciplinary <BR>>
academic Open Spaces?<BR><BR>><BR>> When I try to envision being in an OS
session with Dyson and a bunch of <BR>> geeks, I can feel that either they or
I would walk out in frustration. <BR>> That's the law of two feet at
work. AND it is a failure to bridge between <BR>> the two worlds --
<BR>> which, in our case, is the primary purpose of the gathering....
How to <BR>> satisfy both needs...<BR>></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>___________________________________<BR>Peggy
Holman<BR>The Open Circle Company<BR>15347 SE 49th Place<BR>Bellevue, WA
98006<BR>425-746-6274<BR><A
href="http://www.opencirclecompany.com">www.opencirclecompany.com</A> <BR><A
href="mailto:peggy@opencirclecompany.com">peggy@opencirclecompany.com</A>
</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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